Flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) on Monday afternoon announced it has lined up four flights from Kuwait to Manila this week to help repatriate the distressed overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) there.

This was in response to President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s request to local carriers to help the OFWs to come home. Duterte has ordered the Department of Labor and Employment and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to work on the repatriation.

The four flights will be free of charge for the distressed OFWs in Kuwait.

On Monday morning, 220 OFWs arrived in Manila via PAL flight PR 669.

Another flight was scheduled to depart from Kuwait on Tuesday, Feb. 13 at 4:00 p.m., and would arrive in Manila at 6:40 a.m. on Wednesday morning. Succeeding flights depart from Kuwait International Airport on Thursday and Sunday with the same schedule.

The airline said it would continue to coordinate closely with the Philippine Embassy in Kuwait and the DFA who are in charge of identifying and selecting the OFWs to ensure an orderly process in availing of the repatriation effort.

PAL has also declared its readiness to mount an additional special repatriation flight, if needed.

“We are here to serve our Filipino brethren. This is our assurance to the families of the affected OFWs, who are concerned about the welfare of their loved ones,” PAL chairman Lucio Tan said in a statement. (PNA)